


pancakes with a side of you

by yehetno



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Again, Alternate Universe - College/University, Floof, Fluff, M/M, a temporary aside into angst that lasts a milisecond, fluffen fluffy fluffs, for reasons this takes place in the near future, jinwoo is relentlessly in love, kim mingyu is me, miserable attempts at humor, not tagging svt but mingyu exists, the pg-est band in the world, what is moon bin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 03:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7601449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yehetno/pseuds/yehetno
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jinwoo is one rejection closer to Myungjun saying yes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	pancakes with a side of you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jamjams](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamjams/gifts).



> dedicated to jamjams, the mj to my jinjin.
> 
> also, someone needs to take astro away from me. save me. sAVE me.
> 
> please forgive typos because i'm drowning in astro feels.

Jinwoo has a happy place.

It's a 24-hour greasy spoon style diner, tucked away in a rarely travelled to corner of campus.  The counter has stools with spinning seats that are bolted to the ground.  The jukebox that only has songs from before 1995 is pressed against the wall.  The black and white linoleum tiles have a few cracks here and there on the particularly well travelled sections of the floor.  Over the years, the walls have accumulated all sorts of messages written in every conceivable medium from crayon to fountain pen.  Most of them are simple 'so-and-so was here on this day', but once in a blue moon, someone writes a poem or draws something ridiculously beautiful.   The counter always has a residual stickiness to it, not matter how many times the staff try to wipe it down.  The booths and stools have red vinyl coverings, some of which are cracking too, revealing with pale foam cushioning beneath.  A bulletin board is mounted on the wall right outside of the restroom with fliers advertising anything ranging from tutoring services to poetry slam nights at the campus cafe.  They have pies in display cases, but Jinwoo has never seen anyone ask for a slice.

Jinwoo usually goes around 3:15AM because that's when Myungjun is there.

Myungjun is hands down the most beautiful person that Jinwoo has ever met.  He hums when he's in a good mood, sometimes he'll even sing while wiping down tables and while relaying an order to the short order cook.  He treats every single customer with kindness and listens to anything that they have to say.  He has the uncanny ability to tell when a customer has reached the bottom of their coffee cup, so he never ruins the balance of coffee to cream and sugar.  He has an infectious giggle and has a cache of witty remarks to serve up if a customer wants to joke around.  He has the kindest eyes that rarely regard anything with coldness or disgust.

Jinwoo is also shamelessly in love with Myungjun.  That contributes a teeny tiny bit to his happy place.

 

//

 

Jinwoo grips the chrome handle of the diner's front door, peeking through the glass to see Myungjun brewing a new batch of coffee.  A smile spreads across his face; it's a routine between them.  Myungjun busies himself with something just when Jinwoo is about to come in.

He yanks the door open and waltzes in, going straight to his usual booth. There are rarely other customers in the diner when Jinwoo comes.  During testing periods, there is an uptick in the traffic, but today is not one of those days.  Trot music plays softly, coming from the kitchen where the short order cook, Mingyu, sways rhythmically to the sound.

"Howdy!" Jinwoo greets as he slides into the booth, settling down in the middle of the bench, squeaking against the tired vinyl.

He sees Myungjun shake his head as his fingers wrap around a small mug.  In his other hand, he has the old coffee pot.  Myungjun offers a courtesy smile as he sets down the coffee on Jinwoo's table, "Hello.  I saved you the stale coffee."

Jinwoo watches him skillfully fill his mug to the right height for Jinwoo's preferred coffee to cream ratio.  Jinwoo sets one of his textbooks on the table and sighs happily, "You know me so well.  May I see a menu?"

Myungjun gives him a look, sticking out his hip and placing his free hand on it.  "Park Jinwoo.  You know that menu like the back of your hand, and you always get banana pancakes with extra whipped cream."

"Maybe I want to change it up, and I forgot the prices."

Myungjun smiles in disbelief and shakes his head, "I'll go get you a menu then."

Jinwoo adds cream and sugar to his little cup of coffee and takes a sip.  It tastes awful, but it always does.  The first time he had it, he complained to Myungjun about it.  His response was chock full of sass, "It's dirt cheap and we offer free refills.  If you wanted high quality coffee, you should have gone to Starbucks or a legitimate coffee shop."  (That was roughly the moment that Jinwoo fell in love with him.)  Since then, it's been an inside joke between them, Myungjun serves him the worst coffee they have on hand, and Jinwoo drinks it with a smile. 

Myungjun hands him one of the thoroughly used menus.  There is a soda stain on the paper inside the menu despite the protective plastic.  Something sticky is on the back, but Jinwoo scans the menu all the same.  Myungjun waits for Jinwoo to come to a decision with his pen poised on his pad, ready to take down whatever he decides on.  Jinwoo clicks his tongue, tapping his fingers on the back of the menu and squinting at the descriptions of menu items.

"Ah, looks like I will be going with the banana pancakes.  Could I perchance get some extra whipped cream with that?"

Myungjun rolls his eyes with a smile, jotting it down, "It'll be out shortly."  

Jinwoo hands him the menu with a gummy smile.  He's glad that he makes Myungjun smile, even when teasing is involved.  It speaks to how often Jinwoo comes here; he has private jokes with Myungjun and Myungjun has his order memorized.  Jinwoo theoretically could say that Myungjun knows so much because he pays attention, and he could say that he pays attention because Myungjun  _likes_ Jinwoo.  However, he knows it would be a lie because of the seventeen times that he has asked Myungjun out on a date, he has a 100% failure rate.

That's also something to mention.  Jinwoo has a habit of frequently professing his love to Myungjun and getting rejected a heartbeat later.  He thinks of it like this: each rejection is one no closer to the day that Myungjun says yes.

(There are times when he wonders if Myungjun is genuinely annoyed at Jinwoo's persistence.  Those fleeting moments when he wonders if Myungjun complains about his relentlessness to friends.  Jinwoo thinks that Myungjun is just amused at how enamored of him Jinwoo is.  He hopes that he knows Myungjun well enough to know whether or not he should stop pressing.)

He begins going over his notes while he waits to be served.  He studies here because he gets to spend a serious chunk of time hanging out with Myungjun while simultaneously learning. Today's subject is dance theory.  He has a lot of thoughts about dance theory; it's a lot wordier than he thinks dancing should be.  Jinwoo leads his life with feelings and that extends into his dancing.  Nonetheless, he is dedicated to completing his degree in the study of contemporary dance, so dance theory is a requisite course, even if it is a little dry sometimes.  At least, there are some interesting tidbits about to evolution of dance.

It only takes a few minutes before Myungjun returns to set a plate of banana pancakes down next to Jinwoo's textbook.  The pancakes are absolutely smothered in whipped cream, which makes Jinwoo very, very happy.  Myungjun sets down the syrup with an 'oomph' and asks, "Anything else you want?"

"You," Jinwoo sings.

Myungjun instantly hits back, "Anything realistic?"

Jinwoo nods, "Tell Mingyu that I appreciate the atrocious amount of whipped cream on my pancakes."

"Alrighty."

After drowning his pancakes in syrup, Jinwoo takes a bite, glancing at his textbook to begin internalizing this chapter.  Mingyu makes everything well, but his pancakes are Jinwoo's favorite.  Judging on how quickly his pancakes emerged from the kitchen, Mingyu must have already whipped up the batter before Jinwoo came in.

Jinwoo sips his coffee and studies.  He crams pancakes into his mouth.  He glances up to see Myungjun keeping himself busy by wiping down tables that he has cleaned several times before.  He struggles through dense passages in his textbook.

Nothing new.  Jinwoo has been in this situation many times before.  He still hasn't figured out the right combination of words to convince Myungjun that they should date; he'll get there one day.

 

//

 

"Did you ever just think about, I don't know, giving up?" Minhyuk suggests as he hands Jinwoo a bottle of water.

"Give up?" Jinwoo gapes.  "You don't give up on your soulmate."

"Maybe he's not your soulmate," says Minhyuk with a shrug before he takes a swig of his own water.

Jinwoo scoffs and proceeds to make a series of unintelligible sounds that intonate the offense that he takes to the mere suggestion.  He turns to Sanha, who is stretching as part of his cooling down routine, "Can you _believe_ what he is saying to me?"

Sanha grimaces, "I hate taking sides when you two fight, but he does have a point.  I mean, this guy flat out rejected you every time that you declared your feelings."

"Wow.  No love in this room, zero."

Minhyuk fans himself with his shirt, "Look, Jinwoo, I love you.  You know that; all I'm suggesting is that you go after a person that actually has a modicum of interest in you."

With a long groan, Jinwoo shakes his head, "One day, you children will understand the struggles that I am going through."

Sanha scoffs, standing up to make a point of towering over Jinwoo,"I'm 18 years old; I am not a child."

"You're just a very large infant."  Jinwoo sighs, patting Sanha on the shoulder as he bristles toward the exit.  "Neither of you have enough life experience to judge me on my decisions!"

Sanha rolls his eyes, "He talks as if he's _so_  much older than we are."

"Why are you lumping me in with this?  You're the one who was born in a different century than me and Jinwoo."  Minhyuk snorts, grabbing his bag from the corner of the practice room.

"I hate you."

 

//

 

"Do you want to see a movie?" Jinwoo asks Myungjun as he liberally applies syrup to his short stack.

"Not with you."

He briefly thinks about his unproductive conversation with Minhyuk.  He finally clicks his tongue and says, "You know, one day you'll soften up and finally admit that you like me."

"Oh yeah?" Myungjun asks, filling up his coffee while amusing Jinwoo's line of thought.

"Yup."

Myungjun shakes his head, "In your dreams, Park Jinwoo."

"Yes, frequently."

 

//

 

Today is one of the rare instances that he's actually awake midday.  He has to meet up with a project partner, who apparently, keeps a usual sleep cycle.  Somehow, Jinwoo labels him as the weird one.  What kind of university student doesn't have a supremely messed up sleeping schedule?

Jinwoo trudges toward the dining hall, squinting through his sunglasses.  The frown feels out of place on his lips, but the situation merits it.

That frown turns upside down when he spots a familiar figure sitting by a fountain.  Myungjun sits on the steps leading up to it, eyes glued to his phone.  Jinwoo contemplates walking up to him to show him his incredible fashion sense.  Even when Jinwoo is tired, he looks nice.

He takes two steps before he sees a stranger (to him anyway) slide next to Myungjun and throw an arm around his neck.  This stranger gets way closer than a normal friend, in Jinwoo's opinion.  He's about to walk up and defend Myungjun's honor when Myungjun smiles at this person.

And oh.   _Oh._

The smile falls off of Jinwoo's face, as something unpleasant churns in his stomach.  Jinwoo is an idiot.

Of course,  _of course,_ Myungjun has a boyfriend.

He has to take deep breaths because the pain in his stomach has travelled up to his chest.  He walks away slowly.  He wishes he hadn't seen it.  It was silly to think that Myungjun didn't have anyone, not when he is so perfect.  Jinwoo wishes that the very first time he said something cheesy and flirtatious that Myungjun would have cut him off.  Hope let love bloom in his heart when he should have been listening to every time that Myungjun said it like it was.

Maybe this entire time Myungjun was trying to put him down gently, and Jinwoo just ignored it.  

Minhyuk might be right. The truth slaps him in the face and leaves a stinging, red hand print.

Jinwoo goes to his project meet up and prays that no tears fall while he's trying to iron out responsibilities.

 

//

 

Myungjun glances at the clock and checks his appearance in the mirror that's mounted to the wall next to the kitchen window.  He exhales as he arranges his hair meticulously.  Jinwoo will be there in five minutes.  He swipes some balm over his lips and pops his mouth a few times.  "Mingyu, are you getting--"

"The pancake batter for your boyfriend ready? Yes." The short order cook cuts him off, showing Myungjun the bowl that he's whisking together.

"Jinwoo is  _not_ my boyfriend," Myungjun denies, and immediately regrets doing so.  Mingyu has been antagonizing him over his crush on Jinwoo for as long as he has been a customer.  The first time that Jinwoo asked him out, Myungjun went straight for the sassy response.  He usually hates being hit on by customers, but then Jinwoo came back and made a genuine effort to get to know him.  And Myungjun slowly got roped into liking Jinwoo, although he still hasn't found it in himself to actually say it to Jinwoo.

"He would be if you would just accept one of his bazillion confessions," Mingyu says rolling his eyes, "I don't get you.  Seungkwan told me that I was handsome once and I asked him to marry me.  You, on the other, have a guy asking you out on the daily and consistently say no even though you like him?"

Myungjun scoffs, "I never said I like him."  (He does; he really does.)

"You just applied lip balm," he says incredulously.

Myungjun exhales through his nose to express annoyance.  "Look, I told Moon Bin to come today.  Jinwoo has to get his distant approval before I even consider dating him."

"So he's one rejection away from a yes, so long as your overly touchy kitten of a best friend gives him the okay?"

"Bin isn't overly touchy," Myungjun trails off.  Usually, he just labels Bin as affectionate.

"I thought you two were dating the first time I saw you interact.  You think that Jinwoo will just magically know that Bin lacks boundaries?" Mingyu asks, setting down the batter to place both hands on his hips.  His pose gives off mom vibes.

Myungjun squints and puffs out his cheeks.

Mingyu starts again, "If he sees you two interact, Jinwoo is going to back off.  He's a nice person, so I doubt he's into wrecking perceived relationships."

"Bin won't even interact with me in that way.  Now we need to stop talking about this because Jinwoo will be here in a matter of seconds!"

Mingyu snorts and resuming whisking the pancake batter.  Myungjun readies himself by the coffee maker, glancing at the mirror, waiting for Jinwoo to appear.  He diligently wipes down the counter, keeping his back faced to the door and using the mirror to make sure he seems disinterested when Jinwoo actually enters.  He ignores the thunderous pounding of his heart.

Minutes tick by and Jinwoo doesn't show up.  Myungjun gives up the pretense of cleaning the counter and watches the door.

When it's half an hour past Jinwoo's normal arrival time, Bin pops in with the least inconspicuous disguise that Myungjun has ever seen.  A beige trench coat, black hat, a newspaper tucked under his arm, and a pair of sunglasses in the middle of the night make Moon Bin look ridiculous.

Bin scans the restaurant and takes off his sunglasses, "Where is he?"

"He didn't come." Myungjun quietly admits out loud.

"What on God's green earth are you wearing?" Mingyu asks through the kitchen window.

 

//

 

Minhyuk sighs, "I'll probably regret this, but don't you think that you should go see him?"

Jinwoo moans pitifully, face firmly planted in pillows.

"He's probably worried.  You _always_ go there, and suddenly breaking pattern with no explanation might lead him to believe you have died or something."

Jinwoo pulls his face out of the pillow to look at Minhyuk, "You think he's worried about me?"  There's so much hope in his voice that it's pitiful.

Minhyuk snaps, " _I'm_ worried about you."

"I can't just go there," Jinwoo whines.  "He has a boyfriend.  What's the point of existing?"

Minhyuk wants to tell Jinwoo to stop being such a dramatic whale, but he knows that is not what his best friend needs to hear at the moment.  "Do you need me to go with you?" he offers, and immediately regrets it as Jinwoo jumps up and points at him.

"Yes.  You can pretend to be my boyfriend!"

"No," Minhyuk firmly denies the request without even blinking.   He manages to restrain himself from voicing the thought that a fake boyfriend scheme is very middle school.  Jinwoo should thank his lucky stars that the universe blessed him with a friend like MInhyuk.

"At least let me dress you."

"Ugh, fine."

 

//

 

Jinwoo takes a deep breath.  He tries to contain his excitement about seeing Myungjun.  He tells his heart to stop like someone that is in a relationship with someone else.

Although Minhyuk looks fly, he also looks vaguely annoyed that Jinwoo actually took him up on his offer.

Jinwoo opens the door for Minhyuk and manages to direct him to his preferred table.  He settles in and looks around for Myungjun who is nowhere to be found.  He pouts and  calls out, "Hello?"

There's a crash that comes from the kitchen and an unfamiliar head pops up in the kitchen window.  Jinwoo's heart sinks; it's Myungjun's boyfriend.

"Oh!"  He shouts, "Myungjun, there are people at a table.  They are very well dressed."

Jinwoo gets the feeling that this kid would have kept describing them, if not, for Myungjun exiting the kitchen as he smooths his apron.

He sees Jinwoo and a small smile appears on his lips.  The smile lessens when he sees Minhyuk.  Myungjun grabs menus from behind the counter and approaches their table.  "Jinwoo, we were kind of worried for a little while there."

"That's what I said," Minhyuk sings under his breath, thumbing through something on his phone.

"Well, I'm fine.  This is Park Minhyuk."

"I'll be going," Minhyuk says immediately after.

"We just got here?"

Minhyuk clicks his tongue, "Sanha is having an emergency."

"It's three in the morning.  He's not awake." Jinwoo knows what is happening.  Minhyuk is flaking out on him, and leaving him alone with the love of his life, who is currently in love with another man.  He should have seen this coming.  Emotional support only goes so far with Minhyuk,

"His emergency is saving me from whatever is going to go down, so yes, Sanha is having an emergency."  Minhyuk grins with no warmth and scoots out of the booth.

He looks Myungjun over and looks back at Jinwoo, "Just give up.  He looks like he has standards."

Jinwoo blanches.  He cannot believe that Minhyuk said that with Myungjun's boyfriend in the room.  He's also mildly offended that Minhyuk would leave him to fend for himself like that.  Then again, Minhyuk has an excess of bluntness in his personality.

"Banana pancakes, extra whipped cream please," Jinwoo murmurs, as his mood drops off.

Myungjun's boyfriend takes the seat across from Jinwoo and clasps his hands, and Myungjun walks to the kitchen to relay his order.  His boyfriend carefully assesses Jinwoo before introducing himself, "Hello! I am Moon Bin!"  He extends his hand toward Jinwoo.

Does Moon Bin know how often Jinwoo asks his boyfriend out?  Jinwoo is too flustered to do anything other than shake this guy's hand.  He mutters, "Park Jinwoo."

"Is your friend single?"

What?

"Is your friend single?" Bin repeats; apparently Jinwoo said that out loud.

"Is Park Minhyuk single?"

"That's what I'm asking you."

Jinwoo blinks, "I don't understand."

Bin leans back, flicking non-existent hair out of his face, "The very fine gentleman that just left.  Is he romantically involved with anyone?  Is he dating?  Would he be interested in my phone number?"

Jinwoo still doesn't compute, "Why?"

Bin looks concerned, "Myungjun, is he always this confused?"

"What are you asking him about?" Myungjun asks, approaching with coffee in one hand and mugs in the other.

"The relationship status of the boy that he entered with."

Myungjun sets the mugs down on the table and gives Bin a look, "I don't think you know Jinwoo well enough to be hitting on his friends."

"You're my friend.  He's your almost-more-than friend.  We're practically in-laws."

"Moon Bin." Myungjun mutters through his teeth, giving his friend the death glare.

Jinwoo takes all of this in and attempts to do some math.  Moon Bin is interested in Minhyuk, which would imply that he is not dating Myungjun.  He also just called Jinwoo Myungjun's almost-more-than friend, which implies that there are some mutual feelings between Myungjun and Jinwoo.  Myungjun also glared at Bin the way that Sanha did when Minhyuk totally told Dongmin that Sanha liked him.

Lightbulb.

A gasp.

"Does Kim Myungjun like me?" Jinwoo asks incredulously.

"Obviously," Bin says, eyes rolling, "Now about Minhyuk, can I have his phone number?"

Myungjun grimaces as he closes his eyes, "Bin, please go die."

"Will it get me Park Minhyuk's phone number?"

"Moon Bin!" Myungjun exclaims.

Bin slides out of the booth, "Leaving."

Jinwoo smiles at Myungjun, baring his gums, "Can I have my pancakes with a side of you?"

Myungjun looks at his order pad, "If you leave your number with the check."

"How long do I have to wait until I can say that I'm in love with you?" Jinwoo giggles, watching Myungjun get red in the face.  His heart is soaring at the fact that Myungjun  _likes_ him.  This is the best day ever, not ifs, ands, or buts.

"At least buy me dinner first,"  he says quietly before Mingyu rings the order bell.

"Who knew the key to getting your heart was giving you space?"  Jinwoo shouts.

Myungjun whips around with his plate of pancakes, "For the record, I liked you way before you decided to scare me half to death by failing to show up."  He sets the plate down in front of Jinwoo and takes the seat across from him.  "I feel like I shouldn't have just said that."

 

 //

 

"You know I thought that you and Bin were dating."

"When?"

"I saw you guys by the fountain and briefly boycotted visiting you."

"I hate Mingyu."

"What does he have to do with it?"

"Shut up and eat your pancakes."

"I love you."

"I wish you weren't so cute."

"Say you love me."

"I love you."

**Author's Note:**

> i'm sorry.  
> (when did i start shipping minkwan???? svt troubles got me yo.)  
> mj and jinjin hurt me.  
> my quest to do myungjin justice continues. will i succeed? probz not.
> 
> psssst [ minkwan](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7658527) if you want to read it


End file.
